Frequently Asked Questions

You are a non-profit organisation

1. How to know if I can apply for the VINCI UK Foundation?

If you want to quickly find out whether your project fits the selection criteria of the VINCI UK Foundation, you can fill the quick eligibility test available on the website. If you are eligible, you can apply for a grant by sending us a completed application form.

2. Do I really need a VINCI sponsor to apply for a grant?

Involvement of VINCI employee sponsors is a necessary condition for support. Social involvement of VINCI employees is one of the Group’s core values: only projects which enable VINCI employees to be actively involved can be selected. If you don’t know anyone working for VINCI, you can contact the us directly and we will do our best to try to find you a sponsor.

3. What kind of organisations the Foundation does not support?

Applications from individuals or political, religious, non-registered and profit-based organisations will not be selected. The Foundation does not support organisations that receive regular Government funding or are classed as a large organisation. A project which does not match with any of the selection criteria or which is a one-off event (exhibition, demonstration, temporary project) cannot receive a grant as well. Finally, projects which do not involve any VINCI Sponsor will not be supported by the Foundation.

4 What are the Foundation’s selection criteria?

To be elligible for funding, your application should comply with the Foundation criteria available here.

You are a potential sponsor

1. How to know if a project can be supported by the VINCI UK Foundation?

The selection criteria are detailed on the Foundation’s website. If you have any doubt don’t hesitate to contact your Local Coordinator.

2. I would like to get involved in a project abroad, what can I do?

The UK Foundation supports projects in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. International projects are supported by the French VINCI Foundation and the sister Foundation network: Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Belgium and The Netherlands. You can find links to their websites on the UK Foundation website and contact them. For projects in Africa, a specific programme exists: The Sogea-Satom initiatives fund for Africa, contact: coordination.issa@vinci-construction.com.

3. I am not sure what type of skills I could bring to the project. Who can guide me?

The Local Coordinators are at your service to answer your questions. There is no prerequisite to become a sponsor and every employee has Professional skills and expériences that could benefit a project.

4. What are the sponsor’s actions?

Depending on the project’s needs, your wishes and availability, sponsorship can be done in many ways: meetings at the project’s site or at your workplace, email or phone conversations, etc. The first meeting with the requesting organisation and a member of the Foundation team can lay the basis of the sponsorship actions.

5.How long the sponsorship last?

Sponsorship is not limited by time. Its length depends on the initiatives undertaken but also on your availability and the project’s needs. At the end of the first year, the UK Foundation sends you an assessment to complete with the supported organisation: it focuses on the project’s results and the outcome.

6. Is sponsorship time-consuming?

Is depends on your availability and your involvement. It is up to you to decide the time you want to dedicate to your project, according to your project, according to the project’s needs, your availability and agreement from your manager.

7. When should I inform my manager that I wish to become a sponsor for a project as part of the UK Foundation?

Sponsorship is a personnal choice encouraged by the Group. However, it is advisable to include your management in the process as soon as you have decided to get involved in a project which is: the request for support (if you know a charity), or the acceptance of the Foundation if you volunteered. Informing your manager enables them to understand your social involvement and therefore, freeing timefor your role as a sponsor.

8. What should I say to my colleagues who want to become a sponsor?

Sponsorship is a commitment undertaken by the Group and Xavier Huillard within the Manifesto he signed in 2012 “for the civic commitment of our employees, especially through the Foundation”. This entails managers and their employees to pass and support this commitment. Sponsors dedicate some of their working time according to their availability to a charity that helps people who suffer social exclusion. It is a sponsorship of skills and it is important to nurture the will of colleagues who come to see you by helping them at the beginning of the sponsorship. The Foundation can help you to find solutions and make this decision thrive and become an opportunity to strengthen cohesion among your team.

9. What happens if I leave my region or my company?

Sponsorship will slow down and may even stop. First, you must inform the supported organisation that you are leaving. Then, before your departure, it is important to find a colleague that can carry on your action as a sponsor.

10. What is the selection process?

When the completed request for support form is received by the UK Foundation, an acknowledgement of receipt is then sent to the charity. The Local Coordinators study the application and inform the sponsor and the charity of their decision. If the project is pre-selected, a visit to the charity with the sponsor and a Local Coordinator is organised. The project is then submitted to the Selection Committee. If the Committee decides to support the project and the Board accepts the recommendation, the sponsorship officially begins and the financial aid is provided.

11. What documents should I provide to the Foundation?

The documents that are necessary to apply are listed in the request for support application form which you can download on the website of the UK Foundation. The Local Coordinators will ask you if they need any other document. The Foundation is also pleased to receive photographs and feedback concerning the supported projects!

12. Can I ask colleagues to join me in a sponsorship?

Of course! The Foundation encourages co-sponsorship that enables employees to rally around a project. This multi-support can bring complementary skills and develop new relationships among employees in a different environment. It is also a mean ensuring a regular presence with the charity, by dividing tasks between sponsors.